Sen. Marco
Rubio (R-FL) predicted Tuesday that Jeb Bush would ultimately
tolerate a path to citizenship despite the former Florida
governor’s surprise
reversal of his past support for the policy.

Comments Bush made on MSNBC’s
Morning Joe on Tuesday suggested “that he could support
a plan that has a path so long as it doesn’t give favoritism to
those who violated the law — and that’s exactly what we’re
working on,” Rubio told reporters in the Capitol.

In that that appearance, Bush suggested he’d at least consider a
path to citizenship that doesn’t encourage further illegal
immigration. “I don’t see how you do it, but I’m not smart enough
to figure out every aspect of a really complex law,” Bush said.

That Rubio now must convince Bush to swing left on immigration
represents an ironic role reversal for the two Florida
politicians. Just a few months ago, it was Rubio who publicly
opposed a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and
Bush who explicitly
favored the idea.

“I thought about that issue a lot and [went] back and forth on it
before I signed on to my principles and I just concluded that
it’s not good for the country in the long term to have millions
and millions of people who are forever prohibited from becoming
citizens,” Rubio told reporters on his way to a Senate vote.
“That hasn’t worked out well for Europe.”

Responding to a question from TPM, Rubio said he did not think
Bush’s surprise move would make it harder to convince
conservatives to accept an eventual path to citizenship.

“I don’t think so — we have what we have,” Rubio said.

But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), another member of the bipartisan
Senate group working on a bill, expressed serious concern Tuesday
about Bush’s rightward turn — especially given his prominent
reputation as an immigration reformer.

“He has been a great voice on immigration, he’s been a good
governor who understands the Hispanic community,” Graham told
reporters. “I just think this proposal caught me off guard and it
undercuts what we’re trying to do. I mean I can assure you the
Hispanic community has always assumed that for the tradeoffs I’m
seeking there will be a pathway to citizenship.”